


Making the Yuletide Gay

by Eilera, Giraffvinu, Kunfetti, lureavi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adorable Pets, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Big Ass Christmas Trees, Christmas, Christmas Rivalries, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, Humor, Inappropriate Christmas Lyrics, Luckily Shiro Is There to Help Him, M/M, Matt Has The Worst Luck, Matt's Cheesy Pick-up Lines Deserve a Warning Tag, Overwhelming Christmas Decorations, Romance, christmas shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 15:58:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17144747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eilera/pseuds/Eilera, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giraffvinu/pseuds/Giraffvinu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunfetti/pseuds/Kunfetti, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lureavi/pseuds/lureavi
Summary: "Yeah, uh, you were always the smart one," Shiro chuckled. "So, what brings you here?"Matt glanced around. Oh, yeah. The battle for Christmas decorations!"I need your biggest, baddest 'fuck you' tree. Gimme one with a trunk as thick as your thighs, hot stuff. I'm talking one large piece of wood, if you know what I'm saying," Matt punctuated his sentence with vigorous wiggling of his eyebrows."Uh," Shiro looked at him like he had grown a second head. "What now?"(In which Matt runs into an old friend and Christmas does everything in its power to get them together.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Luddleston](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luddleston/gifts).



> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to our amazingly talented and kind-hearted friend, [Luddleston](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luddleston/pseuds/Luddleston/works). Luddleston ran the Shatt Holiday Exchange which meant she didn't get to participate and get a gift! So this is a special thank you from the four of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter one is written by Giraffvinu! Matt goes to get a Christmas tree, but after a chance encounter with an old friend, that's not the only wood he's looking for.

There was a forest at the side of the farmer's market, or at least, that's what it looked like when Matt parked his car nearby and got out. His eyes were gleaming with joy because he was a man on a mission!

"Fucking Myzax, gonna show you this year, you hear me!"

He felt like shaking his fist but, since there were people around him, already eyeing him suspiciously because of his muttering, he just stuffed his hands in pockets and walked straight at the fenced lot where all the trees stood.

He went straight to where the biggest trees were leaning against the fence and tried to look for someone who could tell him which one of them was the tallest and had the most leaves, and also was the one that would put his obnoxious neighbor to shame. Well, the seller probably wouldn't know the answer to his last question but that was his ultimate goal anyway.

While strolling between the rows of trees, Matt's foot got caught on a power cable providing the electricity for the fairy lights hanging from the rafters, and he fell forward, flailing his arms, the sight of dozens of trees falling down like dominoes flashing before his eyes.

"Whoa!" someone said, and the next thing Matt knew, there was a pair of steady arms catching him just before he would have knocked down a mighty tree with grayish, blue-green needles.

Matt grabbed the arms around him to stay on his feet and got the feeling that someone behind him was nearly the size of the fancy looking fir he almost got too intimately acquainted with. And soft, but that might be because the dude was probably wearing layers. It was a chilly twenty degrees weather.

"You okay?" the owner of the mighty arms asked, not even trying to let go of him, which was a good thing because Matt's death grip on the arms holding him was verging on a spasm.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm famous for my acrobatics," Matt blurted out, then finally let go. He turned around to see his savior and was immediately floored.

The man was gorgeous. There was no other way of describing him. Well, totally fuckable would do too, because Matt was just about to grab the man's arms and wrap them around him again, and maybe suggest crawling under the tree and doing the hanky panky.

Oh, he must have done something right in his life to be blessed by the sight of this... this... six-foot hunk of beef with thighs like tree trunks, and white bangs that looked softer than cotton candy, and a jaw that was most likely chiseled out of marble.

As his eyes roamed all over the Adonis straight out of Flex Magazine centerfold, he got the strangest feeling.

"You look so familiar... didn't we take a class together? I could've sworn we had chemistry." The pickup line fell out of his mouth so naturally he almost didn't register it.

"Matt? Matt Holt?" the man said after a beat, his lips curling into the most beautiful smile. Matt wanted to weep.

"Yes!" Matt blinked a couple of times and gave the man another once over, just to make sure he remembered everything for later and more private uses. "Do you actually know me, or are you just very good at this?"

"Yeah! I'm Shiro! We were friends in middle school, remember? I don't think we had a chemistry class together though," Shiro said, the blessed smile still in place.

"Shiro?" Matt gasped. "You're Shiro? I mean, _you're Shiro?!_ " he gushed, staring at Shiro, mouth agape. "No way! You were this chubby nerdy boy and now you're... you're..."

Matt licked his lips, feeling all tingly just looking at Shiro.

"Ha, yeah, uh, I got my growth spurt in high school. You stayed in Altea High?"

"Sure, waltzed it through in two years, but enough about me because _fuck me_ if I'm wrong, but dinosaurs still exist, right?" Matt groaned, eyeing Shiro up again because who wouldn't!

Shiro's cheeks got a little color on them, and he shook his head, clearly amused by Matt's less-than-good pickup lines. Amazing! This man was his TARDIS, his Holy Grail, _his El Dorado!_

"Yeah, uh, you were always the smart one," Shiro chuckled. "So, what brings you here?"

Matt glanced around. Oh, yeah. The battle for Christmas decorations!

"I need your biggest, baddest 'fuck you' tree. Gimme one with a trunk as thick as your thighs, hot stuff. I'm talking one large piece of wood, if you know what I'm saying," Matt punctuated his sentence with vigorous wiggling of his eyebrows.

"Uh," Shiro looked at him like he had grown a second head. "What now?"

"I need your biggest leafy boner."

"Please don't call them that..." Shiro groaned. Apparently, he had figured out what Matt was talking about. "But yes, we have some massive white spruces at the back. They have a trunk as thick as, uh, well, they are big trees."

"Perfect. Lead the way, gorgeous!" Matt said, finishing with a flourishing bow.

Shiro lead him through the rows of trees while Matt stayed one step behind him. Partially because he didn't know which way to turn when they reached the crossroads of the lanes, and partially because Shiro's lumber jacket didn't cover up his ass. And Matt was quite busy staring at said ass.

"Hey, Shiro? Did you sit in a pile of sugar? Cause you have a pretty sweet ass."

Shiro coughed in his hand and flashed an embarrassed smile at Matt. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know what. Matt felt like he should maybe grow a filter between his brain and his mouth but he wasn't too worried, at least Shiro didn't look angry. On the contrary, the blush on his cheeks looked too cute to be of this world, and Matt wondered if he'd stepped into Narnia or was lead to his doom by a siren. In any case, he didn't want to ruin the moment by pinching himself.

"Here, this is the biggest one I have," Shiro said just then, stopping so abruptly that Matt almost bumped into him. Then he thought of bumping into him on purpose and pretending as if it was by accident, but Shiro had already turned over.

"So, you're offering me this wood willingly," Matt said, staring at the ten foot spruce with hungry eyes.

"Uh, yes, well, I'll still have to charge for it," Shiro said, making it sound like he was apologizing for asking for money from Matt. "But I'll throw in the delivery if you give me your address? There's no way you can haul this one with your tiny Corolla."

"Haha, of c-course," Matt actually stumbled with his words. Was this how all the other people felt like every day? And was Shiro really flirting with him, or did he just want to make a sale?

"And maybe your phone number?" Shiro asked, not looking at Matt and fondling the needles of the tree instead. He looked a bit flustered, like he couldn’t believe he had said that aloud. It was so precious, Matt wanted to hug him and never let go. So, flirting it was. Thank fuck. Things could have gone weird otherwise.

"You're so beautiful that you make me forget my pickup lines," Matt sighed, offering his phone to Shiro. "I'll definitely need help with that monstrosity and yeah, I'd love to see you come."

Shiro snorted while he typed in his phone number, and Matt counted that as a win.

Suddenly, there was something barking behind the trees, and Shiro perked up.

"That's Fish," he said giving Matt his phone back. "And that means, I have a new customer."

"Oh-kay," Matt drawled, trying to figure out what Shiro meant by that. "You are a strange man. Thank fuck you're such a snacc. Oh man, there was the one with the vending machine, I totally forgot that one!"

"Maybe it was you who fell out of the vending machine," Shiro said, flashing that bright wide smile at Matt and blinding him again, before giving him a small wave and walking towards the barking.

"Yup! Definitely died and went straight to Heaven," Matt sighed, clutching his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow Giraffvinu on [Tumblr](https://giraffvinu.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is written by Lureavi! When it comes to decking the halls, Matt is going… A little overboard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Luddlestons! Thank you for setting up this event,you deserve a gift too! <3

“This’ll show that fucker. Myzax can suck my chestnuts,” Matt grumbled with a fierce determination as he struggled to haul himself up a wobbly, creaking ladder. His range of motion was severely limited with the amount of string lights he had coiled around himself, crisscrossing over his torso, looping around his waist and thighs.

Was he the epitome of safety right now? No.

But, was he going to make a second trip up this god forsaken ladder that felt like it was made of tuna can lids, popsicle sticks and gum? Hell no.

In fact, Matt was so eager to be off of the creaky death trap, he couldn’t help but give it a sharp kick for the anxiety it caused him.

He watched in a cold sweat as time slowed, as  _ In The Arms of An Angel _ softly echoed through his mind and the ladder fell to the ground with a theatrical poof of snow.

That was less than ideal, but damn if he didn’t think that ladder deserved it. He would find another way down, right? Worse came to worse, he could jump. Snow is soft. He shrugged off what should have been a much more glaring problem to instead admire the decorating work he’d done so far. Large arches stretched over the driveway, spanning the length of it from the road to the garage. Each one wrapped in strings of rainbow lights, and in the gaps between the ends of the arches, he had stuck large plastic candy canes into the snow.

He couldn’t see it from this angle, but on the garage door hung a massive blinking sign that said “MERRY” above an even larger sign that read “CHRISTMAS.” In between the two, he had painstakingly stapled strands of lights in place to spell “FUCKING” in cursive, because apparently no stores sold elaborate light up signs that already said “Merry Fucking Christmas,” and three hardware stores had turned down his special order request.

The yard itself he hadn’t quite gotten to yet, but the neon green inflatable dinosaur wearing a Santa hat and holding a present was good enough for now. He had to cover the house in enough lights that you could see it from space, like a magnificent beacon of Christmas spirit and neighborly spite.

He had framed every window with garland, crisscrossed lights over the whole front and side of the house, and hung light-up stockings from the gutters. Now? Now it was time to cover the entire roof with a crosshatch of the brightest damn lights he could find. He got to work, starting with wrapping an obscene amount of lights around the chimney. He wanted to blind airline pilots with these suckers, there would be no mercy this year. He was so focused on his glorious plan, so swept up in his visions of grandeur, he paid little attention to his footing on the snow-covered slant of roof. His foot hit a patch of ice, sending him whirling back a foot or two towards the edge. His heart dropped down to his stomach, his entire body chilling as his life flashed before his eyes, but he managed to steady himself.

“Son of a nutcracker, that was close.” He held his arms out for balance, staying in a half-squat position, too afraid to move after the near death experience. It occurred to him he should uncoil the lights from around his neck area, just in case he really did fall off the roof. Though, that was easier said than done as he awkwardly tried to wiggle out of the festive wrap he had woven himself. Untangling lights was decidedly no easier when they were on your person, and he grumbled about his own lack of foresight while freeing his arms and sliding the entire wrapping down his chest. Of course, the lights around his waist got caught as he tried to push them down more, coiled too tightly to get over his butt. When no amount of wiggling helped them move, Matt cursed his “great ass” and jammed his hands between the lights and his body in attempt to loosen them. He threw off his own balance with the frustrated motion and took a step back to regain it, only for his foot to land directly on a slick spot. He yelped as his leg slid out from under him, his butt hitting the hard roof before he slid down the last few feet of the slope. He struggled to get a grip on something to keep himself from sliding off, but still had his arms wedged inside the knot of lights. The world blurred as he fell, but a sharp yank on the lights strung around him knocked the breath from his lungs, and the falling sensation ceased.

Matt hesitantly peeked his eyes open, expecting to see the fiery gates of Hell, the void of Purgatory, or maybe even the North Pole after surely having just met an untimely death by Christmas. Instead, he found himself face to face with his own window, upside-down, with his arms and legs tied by the tight tangle of lights he was dangling from. 

Matt struggled against his festive bindings, but the lights wouldn’t give. He let out a groan of frustration, throwing his head back and watching his hat plop to the snow several feet below. His gaze went back to the window, and level with his face was a small grey paw pressed to the glass, and a pair of tiny green eyes staring at his misfortune with a vague disinterest.

“Shadow!” Matt cooed, hoping she could hear him through the glass, “you gotta help me.” He realized that there was not much a small cat locked inside the house could do for his situation, but given his nonexistent alternatives, chose to put his full faith in her. “Can cats use phones? Go call someone. You can do it!” He cheered.

Shadow stared back at him, giving a single slow blink before stretching out along the windowsill and closing her eyes.

“Shadow, no! Baby! Don’t leave me hanging!” Matt begged, wholly ignored by his beloved companion. He lost sight of the window, noticing for the first time that he was slowly turning as he dangled from the roof. That rickety ladder was looking pretty good, now. He struggled again with the lights, bending every which way to try and get free, listing off a string of less than festive obscenities until laughter sounded from behind him.

He couldn’t see who it was just yet, but with his consistently slow rotation, he was sure he’d find out in another 30 seconds. Though, he had a strong suspicion that his neighbor would be the one finding joy in his misfortune. Matt grumbled more curses, trying to bend to see the asshole who would just laugh at him rather than help. Seriously, he was starting to get light-headed, a little assistance would be rather welcome. A hand on his shoulder stilled his turning, and a rather amused Shiro stepped into view. Matt breathed a sigh of relief, he had been excited to see Shiro the day before, but now? He was ecstatic. And making a terrible second impression, he quickly realized and tried to find the words to save the moment. Flirting would do. “Hey there angel, shouldn’t you be on top of the tree?”

Shiro was just about eye to eye with Matt, struggling to control his laughter while studying the Christmassy cocoon Matt was trapped in. The flirt seemed to have gone in one ear and right out the other. “Your tree is still in the back of my truck. You’re lucky I came over to drop it off at the right time. What are you doing?”

If Matt were capable of shame, he was sure he’d be drowning in it. But, as it were, he instead found himself swept up in the majesty of warm eyes and sharp cheekbones. Being saved by a beautiful man seemed to be something he was getting used to. “Oh, you know. Just hanging around, all wrapped up.” He shimmied around for emphasis, regretting it when small light bulbs dug into him. Who knew those things were so sharp?

Shiro couldn’t help but quirk his lips, running his hands over the coils of lights to see if there was an easy way to get Matt free. “Are you trying to say you’re a Christmas present?”

Matt winked, relieved that Shiro was finally picking up on something. “Yeah, maybe I’m  _ your _ present. You must have been pretty naughty to get me from Santa, but you don’t have to wait till Christmas to  _ unwrap _ -” A loud snap cut off his words, accompanied by the all too familiar feeling of plummeting towards the ground, “FUCK!”

Shiro quickly wrapped his arms around Matt, catching him at his hips before he could fall face-first to the snow, “whoa! Got you!”

“Y-yeah… You sure do,” Matt whimpered. Normally, he’d be ecstatic about the face-full of thick thigh he was currently blessed with, but a third near death experience in the span of an hour was one hell of a damper on things. Not enough of a damper to stop him from enjoying the strong grip around his hips, though it would decidedly be nicer if he were right-side up. "So. Uh. Not that I don't mind you holding me, the view down here's great, but I'm getting really dizzy here. I might pass out, and not just because I'm swooning over you."

"Oh, uh, hold on." Shiro awkwardly bent his head away from Matt's light-covered legs, and carefully shifted him to the side, flipping him enough to tuck horizontally under one arm, "there we go, let's get you untied." 

Matt kicked his legs the small bit the lights allowed, complaining the entire way as he was carried into the driveway, "aww, come on, football carry? That's not hot. Can't a guy get some bridal style? Maybe some over the shoulder?" He wiggled around unhelpfully, "if I have to keep playing the damsel in distress, you could at least humor me."

Shiro smiled, albeit shyly, and shook his head at the complaining. "Why don't we just get you freed, and then I'll help you get this tree where it needs to go?" He hefted Matt into the back of his pick-up truck, next to a massive Christmas tree, and got to work untangling the knot of lights.

Matt waggled his eyebrows, "oh, I know exactly where I want  _ your tree  _ to _ - _ " the awful innuendo was cut short by a loud bark just behind him, making him jolt hard enough to rip the cords of lights from Shiro's hands. He ignored Shiro's frustrated grumble, whipping his head around to the front of the truck, "did you bring a dog?!"

"Hold still," Shiro insisted, tugging on the lights and trying to find his place again, "it's just Fish. He's a good boy."

Matt stared at the big black nose smushed against the back window, and the warm brown eyes locked onto his. "I'm like. Almost sure that's not a fish."

"Well, his  _ name _ is Fish." Shiro watched his dog paw at the window, clearly wanting to come investigate. "You want to meet him?"

"Uh, yeah!" Matt shuffled himself backwards, trying to get a better look, "lookit his squishy nose! And his cute little floppy ears! Is he a Boxer?"

"Kinda? He's a mutt, but I think mostly Boxer and German Shepard." Shiro opened the door and scooped up Fish in his arms. "And you're a GOOD boy! Aren't you?!" He cooed in a high pitch, scratching the short, caramel-colored fur between Fish's ears, "such a good baby!"

Matt swore he was going to melt at the sight. His heart turned to mush at the combined cuteness of Shiro speaking in a full fledged baby voice, and the small, wiggling pup he was cradling. He let out a squeal as Fish was gently plopped into his lap, and the pup put his paws up on Matt's chest to sniff at him. "Oh my god he's so cute," Matt strained to free one of his hands, struggling to try and pet the adorable dog nuzzling his face, but couldn't reach, "oh god, I wanna pet you, I'm so sorry."

Fish responded by bopping a paw onto Matt's cheek.

"I would die for you, Fish." Matt whispered, his eyes the slightest bit misty.

Shiro hopped into the back of the truck, grabbing hold of the lights wound around Matt once again. "You're ridiculous," he teased.

"Hey, says the guy who named his dog Fish." As soon as another coil of lights was undone, Matt's arms shot out to wrap tightly around Fish, "not that it isn't an adorable name for a good boy."

Shiro fought to pull the rest of the cords down Matt's legs, "it’s short for Fishbert."

"Are you... Are you serious?" Matt asked, eyes darting back and forth unsurely between Shiro and Fish.

“Of course not. I was supposed to be buying some minnows for my friend's turtle, but I got him instead. So, he's Fish now." Shiro piled up the mess of lights at the end of the truck bed, "there, you're all untangled. How did you get tangled, anyways?"

"Decorating, duh!" He threw his hands up, gesturing wildly to the arches above them, "don't you see?"

Shiro glanced around, squinting at the bright rainbow assault overhead, "It's... Sure hard to miss, I'll give you that."

"Damn right, and just you wait until it's done! I don't even have the mechanical Santa up yet." Matt scooted a bit closer, effectively trapping Shiro between himself and the side of the truck bed, "this place is gonna look better than you, hot stuff." He caught the rosy hue on Shiro's cheeks, but couldn't tell if it was a blush or just the cold. He hoped for the former. "You should stop over tomorrow night. To see the lights. And me.”

“Really?” Shiro considered it, his face darkening further. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

Definitely a blush, Matt decided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to hit up Lureavi on [Tumblr](https://lureavi.tumblr.com/)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is written by Eilera! Matt's neighbour, Myzax, gets more than he bargained for when he messes with Matt's decorations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everything that you do Luddleston! <3 You are truly an inspiration to us all!

Matt surveyed his masterpiece.

“Fuck you, Myzax,” He grinned, squinting at the abundance of flashing Christmas lights searing rainbows into his retinas. If this didn’t get that asshat’s attention, he didn’t know what would.

His parents were due back in a week’s time. That meant seven days of pure torture for their neighbour and Matt was _so excited_. This was going to be his last chance to fuck with him, if the ‘for sale’ sign out front of the idiot’s door was anything to go by. Matt wasn’t about to let him escape that easily.

Matt gave a wistful sigh as the giant mechanical Santa smiled down on him benevolently. It was a good day. Perhaps he’d gone a bit overboard with the dinosaur Santa. And the big ass ‘fuck you’ tree, courtesy of the smoking hot ranger that helped him choose it. And, okay, maybe the giant ‘May Your Yule Tide Be Gay’ was a bit much, but Matt wasn’t about to pass up on that opportunity. If Shiro hadn’t figured it out yet, he was going to make it blindingly obvious.

Truly, Matt had outdone himself this year. This was going to be his legacy, he was sure of it. He was-

Matt watched in dawning horror as the power went out, leaving the neighbourhood rainbowless. What. The. FUCK?

Stomping towards his makeshift power box, Matt rounded an inflatable snowman to see-

“ _Myzax_ you flaming pile of mouldy cheese, get away from that!”

Myzax loomed over his side of the fence with a dark sneer, giving him an innocent shrug. “I didn’t touch it.”

“Bullshit!”

“It wasn’t me, Holt. _Someone_ vandalized my Christmas speakers so maybe the same person came after you.”

Oh, right. That had been a fun night.

Matt scoffed. “Well, I can assure you that _whoever_ blessed us by destroying your speakers was a merciful angel sent by baby Jesus himself. Maybe they came after you because you were playing the same three Christmas songs over and over and over again. If I had to hear ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire’ one more time-“

“It’s a classic-“

“Not your shitty karaoke rendition of it!”

Myzax narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me, I’ve been told I have a beautiful voice.”

“Your grandma doesn’t count, idiot. I’d rather listen to Kidz Bop Christmas covers over your caterwaul any day.”

“Like you could do better,” Myzax scoffed, pushing away from the fence. “Enjoy your cold, dark Christmas, Holt.”

Oh. Oh, ho, ho.

“Is that a challenge?” Matt asked, eyes sharp and promising pain.

“Wh-“

“Challenge accepted.”  

Matt stepped back, cleared his throat, and sang out to the heavens his own special version of ‘Winter Wonderland’:

_Doorbell rings,_

_Are you listening?_

_Come take a look_

_At my ding-a-ling_

_It’s bigger than yours_

_Can’t fit in my drawers_

_Pleasing all the naughty sexy men._

Myzax winced, covering his ears to protect them from Matt’s siren call. “Stop-“

_Say goodbye to your dildo_

_And say hello to your new beau_

_I’ll sing a love song_

_In my silky thong_

_Pleasing all the naughty sexy men._

“I swear to God, Holt-“

_In the dark we’ll cuddle with an afghan_

_And then we’ll get into some roleplay_

_I’ll say: What’s your name?_

_And you’ll say: Batman_

_And that is all I need_

_In my foreplay_

Matt grinned to himself as Myzax ducked away from the fence, stomping his feet loudly as he made his way around it.

_Later on_

_We’ll perspire_

_And get it on by the fire_

_I’ll swallow you whole_

_Like a spring roll_

_Pleasing all the naughty sexy men._

Dammit, Matt’s throat was hurting from screaming this song out to the entire neighbourhood, but he wasn’t going to stop.

_In the dark we’ll bump and grind together_

_You’ll insist my dong is way too large_

_I’ll smack your ass all wrapped up in some leather_

_The daddy kink, it comes free of charge_

Matt watched as Myzax came around the fence and-

Oh shit, was that a giant plastic candy cane? He could threaten Matt all he wanted, he didn’t have the balls to attack a Holt.

_When we’re done_

_You’ll be tired_

_We did all that you desired_

_We frolicked and played_

_The Porn Hub way_

_Pleasing all the naughty sexy_ -ah!

Matt ducked as Myzax swung the giant candy cane at his beautiful face. It smashed into the fence with a loud crunch, denting the stained wood. Seriously!? Christmas really had it out for him.

“What the fu-“

Myzax swung at him again, furious, but before the candy cane could get anywhere near him a hand snapped into Matt’s view, stopping its forward momentum instantly.

“That’s enough,” a strong voice commanded, making Matt’s knees weak.

Shiro stood beside him, hand gripping tightly to the candy cane. Next to him Fish growled at Myzax. Matt assumed it was supposed to be threatening but the dog was way too adorable to pull it off.

“Who the hell are you?” Myzax snarled, trying to pull his festive weapon back but Shiro held firm. Damn, he was so strong.

Did it suddenly get a lot warmer out here? He wasn’t going to need a jacket if Shiro kept acting like such a hero.

Shiro smiled at Matt’s nemesis, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I came to see some Christmas lights,” he paused, eyes darting to Matt. “Among other things.”

Yeah, he definitely didn’t need his jacket.

“Why don’t you put down the candy cane and Matt will promise not to sing any more…carols.” Shiro’s tone clearly indicated he wasn’t certain whether he could call Matt’s impressive lyrics a carol.

Fair enough.

Myzax looked between the two of them, sizing up Shiro once more before yanking his hand away and stomping back towards his house.

“Merry Christmas!” Shiro called out, ever the polite good Samaritan.

Matt tutted teasingly. “Aw, you can’t say that. That’s politically incorrect. You have to say _Happy Non-religion Specific Celebration of the Winter Solstice Holiday_ , or simply: Happy Candlenights!”

“I…I’m not saying that.”

Matt snorted, watching as Myzax slammed his door shut. He was already plotting a nice booby trap to protect his precious power source from further interference. Clearly, he needed to guard it a lot better. How much voltage could he use on someone before the police arrested him?  

He’d worry about that later. Right now, he had a sexy man to flirt with.

“Shiro, my sweet spring roll, as usual you have the best of timing.”

Shiro blushed furiously, clearly catching the link to Matt’s raunchy lyrics. “I-I do my best.”

Matt let his eyes rake over Shiro’s body. “I bet you do.”

Shiro nervously coughed into his hand, face flushed, as Fish circled around them excitedly. “I was just buying some stocking stuffers but thought I would stop by and see your masterpiece.”

Man, Matt wanted to stuff _his_ stocking.

God, he had it _bad_.

“Well, I promise you you won’t be- FUCK!”

Shiro blinked as Matt rushed back towards his power box, suddenly remembering that that asshat had broken it.

“I swear to God Shiro, I’m gonna tip a dump truck’s worth of eggnog on that idiot’s house if I can’t fix this.”

Shiro peered over Matt’s shoulder, nearly sending a shiver down Matt’s spine with his proximity. He could feel the heat emanating from the other man and he just wanted to curl up in those arms and-

He needed to get laid.

“I have some tools in my truck, let me go grab them,” Shiro said, turning around to jog back.

Matt sat back on his heels, watching him go. Fish rested his head on Matt’s knee, tongue lolling out as he stared at Matt.

“Your dad is going to destroy me, Fishbert.”

Fish didn’t look all that upset about it.

It didn’t take long for Matt to fix his power box, even with Shiro being more of a distraction than a help. Still, seeing Shiro’s face light up when Matt turned the power back on was better than a thousand Christmas presents. It warmed Matt right down to his toes and he was going to blame Shiro’s face for what he said next:

“Want to come in for some hot chocolate?”

Shiro blinked. His surprise was quickly replaced with a sweet smile. “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow Eilera on [Tumblr](http://eilera-chan.tumblr.com/)!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter is brought to you by Kunfetti! Matt and Shiro share some hot chocolate beneath Matt's enormous Christmas tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Luddleston!! <3

The atmosphere of the Holt house is warm and cozy, the advantage of central heating and air not being under appreciated by Shiro, but embraced as it slowly melts into his body. The reindeer shaped glass mug he holds between his hands also brings a welcomed warmth as he waits for his hot chocolate to cool. 

Seeing Matt again, so different from what he remembered back in middle school, is a nice Christmas surprise Shiro never would have expected. He’s even more handsome now, his features having filled out over time. His long ginger hair hangs around his face and Shiro would be lying if he didn’t say he wasn’t at least a little bit curious as to what if felt like running his fingers through it. 

“I swear, Myzak was put to shame this year. I did amazing.” Matt talks out loud, but he’s not sure if he’s talking to himself or to Shiro. 

“They’re certainly eye catching.” He comments anyway. 

Matt looks up at him, temporary taking his eyes off of his own cup of what Shiro would call a concoction of too much chocolate, not enough milk, and smiles angelically at Shiro. His heart beats just a little faster. 

“Yeah,” Matt says, and Shiro thinks it sounds a little breathless, “and the tree looks amazing.” 

Shiro turns to look. They managed to get the tree inside the living room while waiting for the milk to warm on the stove and Matt had already decorated with sparkling rainbow tinsel. It doesn’t even matter that the tip of the tree is bent at the roof by a good foot, it adds to the charm. Fish and Shadow are curled up next to it, sleeping soundly, and Shiro can’t stop the thoughts of just how domestic it all feels, but maybe he shouldn’t entertain those kinds of ideas. 

The sound of Matt sipping his drink catches his attention and he turns to find Matt watching him. Matt covers it up by gesturing to the living room and Shiro grabs his own mug and follows, sitting on the couch just close enough to be friendly but far enough away to be socially appropriate, despite the longing to be closer. 

Shiro can see the snow fall outside the window, the rainbow lights along the pane casting a kaleidoscope of wonder into the living room. It bounces off every surface and it steals Shiro’s breath away when he looks at Matt, as if he were a dazzling aurora right next to him.

“Every year my parents work hard to have the best house on the block and every year Myzak always outshines,” He says, putting his feet up on the elongated coffee table, breaking the spell Shiro is under. His eyes are drawn to the movement and that’s when Shiro notices the bunches of mistletoe not yet hung and briefly contemplates their existence, trying to casually look around for any wayward kissing traps. 

Sadly, he doesn’t find any. 

“This year, I’m winning the metaphorical dick measuring contest.” 

Matt’s confidence is admirable and Shiro can’t help but be impressed with the amount of effort he put in. In all fairness, the house looks amazing. 

It’s in this moment that the lights go out and the unmistakable groan of power winding down fills his ears, along with Matt’s gratuitous colorful language about the powerbox. And when Shiro hears Matt mumble something about setting Myzak’s house on fire, he knows he didn’t imagine it. 

He stands to follow, but Matt pushes him back down with a firm _warm_ hand on his shoulder, “I’ll be right back, stay here and enjoy the fire.” 

“Uhh...what fire?” He asks, looking to the very dark and unlit fireplace across from him. Matt claps twice--and Shiro will deny jumping at the sound--and the fire roars to life.

Shiro turns a questioning eye to Matt, smug written all over his features.

“Us Holts are engineers, you know.” And leaves Shiro flabbergasted with a goofy grin on his face. Fish takes the opportunity to jump on the couch, curling into the spot Matt just left, but unlike his apartment back at the Garrison, Shiro isn’t sure on the pet-to-furniture policy of the Holt household, and scoots Fish off with a gentle push. 

Of course, Shiro’s weeping heart wins out when Fish whines with sad eyes and Shiro joins him on the floor in front of the fireplace. The crackling of wood and smell of birch slowly fills the room. It’s lulling, and Fish has already curled around Shiro, snuggling close. 

He can feel himself start to drift, but the front door slamming shut startles him and Fish awake, and Matt comes storming back into the room. 

“Apparently the power is out for miles because some asshole overloaded the grid with their decorations.” He declares like it’s personally offending him. Shiro keeps it to himself that it  _ might _ inadvertently be Matt’s fault, “What are you doing on the floor?”

“Just, enjoying the view?” He points to the fire, steady and strong. Matt smiles gently, in a way Shiro hopes is only for him, and pulls a blanket off the back of the couch. He once again sits next to Shiro and covers them both with the knitted cover. 

“When we were little, Katie and I would lie here, under the table,” Shiro watched as Matt lies down, scooting just so his shoulders and head are under the table before he continues, “We’d imagine constellations from the pattern on the glass.”

Curiosity gets the better of him and he joins Matt under a table, as if this wasn’t the last thing he expected to be doing today. But sure enough, when he wiggles his way under, he can see pencil marks tracing out star maps on the underside of the glass. There are a few yellow star stickers, peeling at the edges with age. 

And just through the glass, lie the bundles of mistletoe Shiro saw earlier, and is hyper focused on now that he’s aware of them. He swallows hard, looking to Matt to find he is already watching his every move. Suddenly, the room is warmer than it was just a minute ago and Shiro’s mind starts to spin when Matt very obviously moves closer. 

“You know the mistletoe tradition?” Matt asks and Shiro dumbly nods. 

“It’s bad luck to ignore a kiss.” His mouth is dry and is this happening? It’s happening if Matt closing his eyes and moving even closer means what Shiro  _ thinks _ it means. Matt waits patiently, and Shiro takes a moment to gather his bearings. This is almost too good to be true. 

And it is, because Fish chooses that moment to crawl under the opposite side of the table, effectively blocking Matt from kissing Shiro. And the only kiss he gets is a sandpaper tongue to his cheek. 

“Fish, go away.” He playfully pushes but his oblivious dog doesn’t get the hint. Effectively cockblocked by his best friend. 

Ex-best friend. 

Matt laughs though as he scoots himself back out from under the table. Shiro follows suit and they sit in comfortable silence, staring at the fire. The power eventually flickers back on, and Shiro isn’t sure how long they sit together. But when Matt leans his head on Shiro’s shoulder, everything else falls away. 

This feels like something he wants more of. 

Biting his lip, and ignoring the potential consequences, Shiro wraps his arm around Matt’s waist and is rewarded with Matt moving even closer. Shiro can tell he’s walking the line of awareness and blissful sleep, and for the sake of avoiding cricked necks and achy backs, he lowers himself and Matt carefully to lie down. Matt pulls the blanket with them, and Fish and Shadow come to snuggle away from the chill in the air. 

“Shiro,” Barely above a whisper, but he hears it anyway and hums in response, “My family always have a party for New Years, and I’ve never brought a plus one.”

Shiro waits patiently as Matt gathers his sleepy thoughts, his head knowing where this will end up and his heart beating in excitement for it. 

A yawn, “Will you be my plus one?”

Shiro is sure Matt has fallen asleep, his breath even and heavy but he answers anyway. 

“Yeah, I’ll be your plus one.”

 

 

*epilogue -the next morning*

Shiro nuzzles into warm skin and Christmas spiced hair, not really connecting dots in his sleep ailed brain. He could almost mistake the dreamy pleasure for Fish, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Shiro knows it’s not his faithful companion. 

As alertness slowly comes to, he starts to remember yesterday and how Matt and himself must have fallen asleep together. The fire had long since burned out but Shiro was burning in other ways. 

Matt hums in his sleep, and it pulls Shiro further out of his own clouded mind, “This is nice.” 

His voice is gravely and it does  _ things  _ to Shiro he hasn’t felt before. He pulls Matt closer, wanting to enjoy these new feelings a little longer. 

Matt turns in his arms, blinking away the last remnants of sleep. 

“Now that we’re both awake, want to jingle my jangles  _ properly _ and kiss me like you should have last night?”

Shiro blinks slowly for a moment, before laughing, “Is this what I’m signing up for if I ask you out on a date?”

“You get the special VIP Holt Experience.”

Shiro’s first kiss with Matthew Holt is all giddy smiles and silly giggles. Shiro’s second kiss is fire and ice, deep like the ocean, eye opening like the first sip of coffee, and just like coffee, enough to get him up in the morning. 

It’s everything Shiro could ever want, and he’d happily sign on the dotted line. 

Time passes by too quickly when you’re making out like teenagers, but eventually the alarm on Shiro’s phone goes off and he reluctantly pulls away. 

“I have to go.” 

The words are almost painful, but he can’t ignore his obligations at the park, no matter how much he wishes it would just be a snow day. 

Eventually, his boots are tied and he grabs his coat, shrugging it on as Matt stands behind him, stealing one more chaste kiss before he has to leave. This one he smiles into, knowing that many more are coming in the future. 

“I’ll see you later.” He says, opening the door and reluctantly taking another step away. Except he walks face first into very cold snow. His mouth drops open at the snow wall blocking the doorway, shocked that this much snow had fallen in a matter of a few hours while Matt and himself slept it away. 

“Baby, it’s cold outside.” Matt says a little too happily and before he knows it, Matt is pulling him by the collar and kissing him fiercely, the door slamming shut behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow Kunfetti on [Tumblr](http://kunfetti.tumblr.com/)


End file.
